Good Things Thursday: Spring Cleaning

A few years ago, when I would go shopping, I wouldn't really think twice about the product I was about to buy. Price was usually the deciding factor, regardless of its true cost. Good Things Thursday is meant to share products that I actually own and enjoy, and that are also made with a touch more quality/conscience/integrity behind them.

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This thing gets all the muck off our pots and pans, and it's super durable.

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This stuff is seriously ALL PURPOSE. I do not use anything other than this, and one bottle lasts forever. You dilute it down, and you can use it to clean almost anything. Get ready for a ridiculously cheesy claim: This scent actually makes me look forward to wiping down the kitchen surfaces. I LOVE Mrs. Meyers' products.

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After cleaning for an hour, my hands can get kinda gross. These natural soaps are our favorites.

If you do decide to try any of these products, please consider purchasing through my aStore. Each product is linked directly to my aStore, and there is also a mini version of it in my sidebar. If you go through the aStore, I do receive a small kickback.

Whole Wheat Mini Corn Muffins

These are delicious. Eat them with chili, or warm with jam in the morning. The recipe can easily be doubled, and you can freeze them for later use.

1. Combine dry ingredients, mixing well:

2. Add in applesauce and oil, stirring just until moist:

3. Stir in milk, being careful not to over stir:

4.Line muffin tins, and distribute mixture evenly into cups:



5. Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes, remove from oven and allow to cool:

6. Don't eat them before they cool, like Emma did. (She's intelligent, she just gets too excited for freshly baked treats. So now, the roof of her mouth gets to pay for that. )

Whole Wheat Mini Corn Muffins

12 mini muffins

Ingredients:

-1/2 c whole wheat flour

-1/2 c corn meal

-1/8 c sugar

-2 tsp baking powder

-1/2 tsp salt

-1/2 c unsweetened applesauce

-1/2 c milk (I used unsweetened coconut milk)

-1/8 c canola oil

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees, and line or grease your muffin tin.

2. Combine dry ingredients, mixing well.

3. Stir in applesauce and oil, being careful not to over mix.

4. Gradually stir in milk.

5. Spoon into muffin tin, and bake for 15 minutes.

6. Let them cool.

Enjoy!

Per Serving: 71 calories, 11 g carbohydrates, 1 g protein, 1 g fiber, 2.8 g fat

Visitors from GCC :)

A New Look

1. Don't Be Shy

Thank you to the people who read and/or follow this blog. I really appreciate you coming back each day and seeing what I've written. Really. For those who haven't yet followed, come jump in! I love knowing where those page views are coming from, and I love connecting with anyone that visits the blog. Unless you want to stay anonymous, which is fine too! :)

2. I'm looking for guest posters!

I already have a handful, but I'm looking for more! This is open to everyone, so don't hold back! It's a questionnaire, and I'm also looking for pictures. I've already met a few new great bloggers and I'd love to add YOU to the list!

3. Swagbucks

I learned about this from another blogger, and will do another post and go into it further...but for now, swagbucks is pretty cool. You win swagbucks for using their search engine. It has officially taken over as my homepage and I have enough swagbucks for $15 in Amazon gift cards. I mean...it's not TONS, but it's just for using a search engine. Not bad! If you're so inclined, and would like to sign up, please consider using me as your referral. Click the image below and get started! Let me know what you think!

Right Here, Right Now

I'm a planner. I look at pictures of what I want my someday entryway (?!) to look like. I drool over country picnic weddings in anticipation for our five-year-mini-party/vow-renewal-get-together (something like that).  

I look at jobs I'm not yet qualified for. I'm always putting myself five years down the road.

And I need to stop.

Seven years ago, I was a 15 year old high school student.

And today, I'm a 22 year old, married with dog.

Time really does fly.

So I will put down the cottage living magazine. I'll wait until we're married for five years before I plan any parties. And I'll try and remember to always soak in what is right here, right now.

An Easy Serving of Veggies

You might think that I'm crazy, but I think you should give this a whirl. At least once.

Oatmeal + Mashed Butternut Squash (leftover from father in law's garden!) + (raisins, brown sugar, wheat germ, walnuts...the list goes on) =  A delicious breakfast with a serving of veggies!

Oh, go on! Try it!

Eating Well on Sixty...Or 40! 3/25-3/31

I could easily spend an entire paycheck at the store each week. Sometimes I make excuses to go to Whole Foods when I really don't need to. Luckily, Brett is quite good at knowing when we really do need to, and when I'm just having WF hallucinations. (That alone probably saves us close to $1000 each year).But now that new school bills are looming in the very near future, it's time to get serious. And since I couldn't find many $60 meal plans that were healthy, delicious and vegetarian, I decided that I would create my own. Armed with three $20 bills, we will eat. And we will eat well.

This week, my grand total at the store was $42.46. I could have brought it down even further, but I bought something that we already had leftover from last week. I must admit that I was walking through the store with a pretty quick pace, which probably looked kind of ridiculous. I think if I had gone any slower my cart would have begun to fill up with things that we really didn't need.

Anyway, I think one of the best tips that I've picked up along the way (in regards to saving money on groceries),  is to watch your portions. I've found that when I chew for longer periods of time, and I put my fork down between bites ( I haven't figured out how to do this with ice cream), I eat a lot less. So while this bit of advice isn't going to save you $1 off a box of cheez-its, it may stretch your healthy meal even further. 

This week, this is what we're eating:

Breakfast

-oatmeal with butternut squash and dried fruit

-egg, toast, fruit

-toast with peanut butter and banana

-carrot raisin bran muffins with yogurt

Lunches

Most days, leftovers from dinner will be eaten the next day as lunch. Other days, these are what I rotate in:

-baby green salad with green peppers, tofu

-tofurkey deli slices (buy on sale and freeze! this is a treat!) on homemade rustic bread, fruit, slice of cheese, carrots or celery

-rice and beans with homemade salsa

Friday

-Pizza on homemade dough, salad

Saturday

-Quinoa with mushrooms, kale, and sweet potatoes with salad

Sunday

-Homemade tofurkey with mashed potatoes, salad (Didn't get to make it last week!)

Monday

-Pasta TVP 'meat' sauce, salad

Tuesday

-Quesadillas with fresh salsa and bean salad

Wednesday

-Chili with whole wheat cornbread and salad

Thursday

-Lentil burgers on rustic bread, sweet potato fries, and salad

Snacks/Treats

-homemade cinnamon raisin swirl bread with tea

-greek yogurt with veggie slices

-hard boiled egg with veggies

-fruit with peanut butter

-(maybe) a cupcake from Sweet Giuls!

So far, I've stayed well within the budget, and we've eaten quite well. I will be posting more recipes this week, so if anyone would like to see a certain one, please let me know!

shegotmarried@live.com

*Be sure to check out Grocery Cart Challenge for some more thrifty menu plan ideas!*

Dinner

Dairy Free Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

Let me just say that given the choice over cake and ice cream, I will take the ice cream every single time.

To me, there is no better invention than the sweet-creamy-smooth-frozen goodness that is ice cream. Except....maybe....for good bread.

But before I go any further, hold on just one minute. LOOK at that picture. And tell me you're not experiencing disbelief at the fact that those scoops are in fact dairy free. I'm not sure I would believe it either. Most of our homemade batches of ice cream have turned out icy; they freeze into solid blocks within the first day.

But I was determined. I like knowing what goes into my food. And I like knowing that I'm eating something that is homemade. So a few minutes of googling, a quick jaunt to Whole Foods, and I was ready to go.

{ I must apologize for the lack of post pictures. The truth is that I was too darn excited. The quart was gone by the next morning. Poor Brett. }

Dairy Free Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

Makes 8- 1/2C servings

-1 1/4 C Silk Creamer, Plain

-1 3/4 C So Delicious Coconut Milk, Plain and Unsweetened, divided

-3/4 C Sugar

-2 TBSP Arrowroot (You may be able to get away with cornstarch)

-1 TBSP Vanilla Extract

-3 TSP Peppermint Extract

-3/4 C Semi Sweet Mini Chips (I use Ghiradelli. They're perfect for this recipe)

1. In small bowl, combine arrowroot with 1/4 C coconut milk. Set aside
2. In medium saucepan, combine remaining coconut milk, creamer, and sugar, and cook over low heat.
3. When mixture just begins to boil, remove from heat and immediately stir in arrowroot mixture from step 1. **If you like a slight green tint to your ice cream, use 1 to 2 drops of food coloring in this stage. If you're a purist, skip this step!**
4. Add extracts (You can add more peppermint if you like a stronger mint flavor)
5. Allow mixture to cool in fridge for 2 to 3 hours.
6. Freeze according to ice cream maker's instructions. With my cuisinart, I let it run for 28 minutes.
7. In the last 2 minutes of freezing, slowly add in the chocolate chips.
8. Transfer mixture to PAPER container. I usually nicely ask the cashier at Whole Foods if I can grab some from the soup bar. These work best for freezing fresh ice cream.


Be sure to allow your ice cream to freeze before you scoop it. It's tempting to not wait, but it's so worth it to scoop it like it's a pint of Ben & Jerry's!

Per Serving: 235 calories, 10.4 g fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 38.7 g carbohydrates, 2 g fiber, 1.7 g protein
Cost Per Serving: 68 cents*
*strictly an estimate based on prices in my area

This is a more pricey variation of ice cream because of peppermint extract and chocolate chips. If you these two things out, you'll have....vanilla! A touch cheaper and just as delicious.

Roo was keeping an eye on it. The second I turned around, she was ready to dive in. :)



a simple post for a busy day

Today, I am off to do some photography for Pralines Bake Shop. And Roo is looking awfully adorable, and I can tell that she's insisting on a post for the dogs.




Hi. I'm Roo.

 



Yeeea. I wear bandannas.

 



 


This is....I think....my best friend, Hank. I think.




I'm trying reeeallll hard to make her my second best friend.
 I usually try and sit next to her. She likes me. I think.





This is my sun spot where I doze while they do dishes.

OK. That's enough.



Have a wonderful Wednesday! 

No Tuna Salad Recipe

This recipe IS vegan.  It's delicious served on toasted rustic bread or alone. Even if you're not vegetarian, this is a great way to eat a tuna taste-a-like without spending a fortune, and a great dish for those Meatless Mondays. For about the same price, you get quadruple the amount of salad. Plus, you get a nice serving of legumes that so many people struggle to fit into their diets.

1. Chop celery and onions

2.Combine in medium bowl

3. If using canned garbanzo beans, drain and rinse in strainer. Process beans in a chopper until they look like, well, tuna! You don't want to over process, you still want to have some texture from the beans.

4. Combine beans with diced veggies

5. Mash avocado with sea salt and garlic powder. If you're a pickle lover, mix in those pickles now.

Combine all ingredients in bowl and mix well.

Voila!

No Tuna Salad

(makes 10 1/2 cup servings)

Ingredients:

1 28 oz can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed. (once my cans are gone, I'll be switching over to   organic dried beans to save money!)

1/2 avocado, mashed

 1/2 C onion, diced 4 celery stalks, diced

 1/2 C diced dill pickles

garlic powder to taste

salt to taste

1. Chop celery and onions

2.Combine veggies  in medium bowl

3. If using canned garbanzo beans, drain and rinse in strainer. Process beans in a chopper until they look like, well, tuna! You don't want to over process, you still want to have some texture from the beans.

4. Combine beans with diced veggies

5. Mash avocado with sea salt and garlic powder. If you're a pickle lover, mix in those pickles now. Combine all ingredients in bowl and mix well.

Serve on toasted rustic bread or alone. Enjoy!

*Shared with Grocery Cart Challenge readers

Per Serving: 125 calories, 2.5 g fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 21.8 g carbohydrates, 5 g fiber, 4.8 g protein
Cost Per Serving: 35 cents*
*strictly an estimate based on prices in my area

3/18 - 3/24

I could easily spend an entire paycheck at the store each week. Sometimes I make excuses to go to Whole Foods when I really don't need to. Luckily, Brett is quite good at knowing when we really do need to, and when I'm just having WF hallucinations. (That alone probably saves us close to $1000 each year).But now that new school bills are looming in the very near future, it's time to get serious. And since I couldn't find many $60 meal plans that were healthy, delicious and vegetarian, I decided that I would create my own. Armed with three $20 bills, we will eat. And we will eat well.

This is my first week of blogging about our $60 per week challenge! I've been doing it successfully for the past month, and I decided that putting it here would help me stick to it. There are plenty of areas to iron out, and I will work to make it better and more accessible each week. Other than that, this meal plan:

-is designed for two people (with one being a very physically active, hungry guy)

-is based around a lot of homemade goods

-is vegetarian (includes dairy and eggs)

-can easily be made vegan

-could probably be made cheaper if you do not buy organic

-does not include recipes unless an item is a link (each week will include more recipes)

-will eventually include nutritional analysis for recipes

-includes plenty of items that can easily be made ahead of time, frozen, or stored in the refrigerator

-runs from Friday through Thursday (will post on Friday from now on!)

-will eventually include a shopping list

-is not perfect

Here we go!

Breakfast

-overnight slow cooker steel cut oats with dried fruit

-egg with toast and fruit

-frozen fruit smoothies

-homemade bagels with fruit spread or organic cream cheese with fruit

Lunch

Most days, leftovers from dinner will be eaten the next day as lunch. Other days, these are what I rotate in:

-baby green salad with green peppers, tofu

-tofurkey deli slices (buy on sale and freeze! this is a treat!) on homemade rustic bread, fruit, slice of cheese, carrots or celery

Dinner

Friday

-Pizza on homemade dough, salad

Saturday

-No tuna sandwich on rustic bread, cucumber and celery slices, salad

Sunday

-Homemade tofurkey with mashed potatoes, salad

Monday

-Pasta with slow cooker eggplant sauce, salad

Tuesday

-BBQ Seitan with semi homemade mac and cheese, salad

Wednesday

-White bean kale soup with rustic bread, salad

Thursday

-Sloppy TVP's on rustic bread, raw veggies, salad

Snacks/Treats

-homemade vegan mint chocolate chip ice cream (it's gone. Recipe coming this week)

-greek yogurt with veggie slices

-hard boiled egg with veggies

-fruit with peanut butter

-dried fruit and nuts

We do not drink juice or soda. We do drink very little coffee (only because the kind we buy is so freakin' expensive), but most meals are served with water. I'm also a big fan of herbal sun tea. I may drink a few glasses of organic soy milk throughout the week, but I'm mainly a water/tea drinker.



If you're on a food budget, I'd love to hear what it is and what you can do with it! Happy cooking!

In Sickness: What I've Learned

Pardon me. I was sick for the entirety of February, going through buckets of  lozenges, teas, juicing concoctions, and tissues.

It started like this:

I had my wisdom teeth removed on the first of February.

And then I fell on a big patch of ice, and had trouble walking.

I caught a cold.

Then my sinuses began acting up.

Finally, at the end of the month, I said, ''Enough!" and went to the doctor.

Where he told me that I had walking pneumonia.

...Where I asked him (without telling him that my thighs felt sad for the lack of exercise) when I could begin running and being active again.

The truth is, I hope that I never lose an entire month again. But in all honesty, without sounding too melodramatic or cheesy, I know that my cold/ice fall/walking pneumonia is really nothing. But the whole experience of being stuck inside and losing working time really makes you think.

1. Rest

It's so easy to get caught up in a schedule and become somewhat robotic and mechanical. I definitely tired myself out in the past year. Taking on too many things and not truly enjoying/appreciating what I was doing. Being in bed for a month was rather clarifying. Rest is so underrated, and sososo important. Hopefully, incorporating more regular rest will help me to avoid another February like this year.

2. Trust

Financially, we didn't have the best month. Brett took time off of work to be with me while I was in the throes of a three day fever. I worked all of one day in between my cold and walking pneumonia. Our bank account was sparse for a couple of weeks, but at the end of the day, I'm sitting here at a computer typing this. We're fine. I think it's important to remember to trust in whatever you believe in. It's so easy to say that you do, but do you? Rather than allow stress to overrun my mind with worry, I found it a whole lot easier to just be, and to just trust.

3. Just Be

For me, this means regular yoga practice, which I haven't been doing enough of. Whatever it means for you, do it. Spending time with yourself in a meditative state is so rejuvenating. I can't even describe how I feel after I practice yoga. Actually, I'll try. I feel like all my insides (including my brain) have been massaged and rung out, like a towel. I feel like I'm more quiet and more focused. I feel more present and aware. I'm calm. It's just an all around lovely feeling, and it's worth a shot if you've never tried it. It's also great because it's totally doable even if you're feeling slightly under the weather. Stretching is actually really helpful when you're not feeling well, so there's another reason to try it!

Disclaimer: I'm no yogi, and you will not see me practicing outdoors, alone, sans DVD. Although, one day, I hope that I will be able to pull that off. Until then, one of my favorite DVD's is Hemalayaa's Yoga for Young Bodies.

I hope you feel better,